It's that time of year again.. the time when the holidays loom and all the stores forget about Thanksgiving and dive right into Christmas music and decorations. BUY OUR STUFF! YOU NEED THIS!! It can be challenging not to become cynical, world-weary, and basically just want to toss the towel in and hide under your covers til January.
I am, by nature, not a thankful person. I don't know very many people who are. I am pessimistic, cynical, jaded, skeptical, complainy and generally a Negative Nancy. I know this about myself. I hate this about myself. When I notice I'm trending this way, I try to reign myself in and give myself a talking to. I try to set myself goals for that day, wherein I will say positive things to the people I interact with, and not complain about All The Things, and basically try to make their day better by having me in it. It's so much easier to slip into being negative and forget to be thankful, especially if you're running low on sleep which seems to be my way of life. Some days I succeed better than others.
The one area in which I don't have to try to be thankful is my friends. I am ALWAYS very thankful for the friends in my life, they put up with my whining and bitching and complaining and being the general worrywart that I know I always am. I try to remember to tell them frequently how important they are to me, how lucky I am to have them, and how my life is so much better, because they are in it. I probably don't say it enough, because no matter how much I say it, it will never be enough. I really try to be there for them, to provide support and a shoulder to cry on and hugs. Some days I succeed better than others.
This season instead of focusing on the typical holiday things, like financial worry, missing family, loneliness or the stress of it all, I think I'll focus on what's important. The people I care about, friends and family, and be thankful that I have them, be they near or far. And chocolate. Chocolate is really important too.
